Sony and alledged PS3 hacker George Hotz, aka GeoHot, have settled their case out of court. A joint statement for both parties was posted to the PlayStation Blog stating the agreement was reached 10 days ago on March 31. The exact terms of the agreement are unknown but the statement says "Hotz consented to a permanent injunction." Keep reading for more.
Both parties say they are glad litigation is over, understandably so, as the case seemed like a headache for both parties. Sony was recently targeted by the hacker collective Anonymous for their treatment of GeoHot and their supposed violations of privacy on the internet. In the statement Hotz said, “It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier. I’m happy to have the litigation behind me.”
GeoHot was accused by Sony of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Law by posting a hack for the PS3 to his blog and to YouTube. "SCEA accused Hotz of violating federal law by posting online information about the security system in the PlayStation 3 videogame console and software that SCEA claimed could be used to circumvent the security system in the console and allow the playing of pirated videogames." Sony also absolved GeoHot of any suspicion he may have been involved in the attacks on Sony's PSN. "Hotz was not involved in the recent attacks on Sony’s internet services and websites," Sony's statement said.
Sony concluded the statement by saying:
“We want our consumers to be able to enjoy our devices and products in a safe and fun environment and we want to protect the hard work of the talented engineers, artists, musicians and game designers who make PlayStation games and support the PlayStation Network,” added Russell. “We appreciate Mr. Hotz’s willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution.”
I've tried to keep my opinion out of my coverage of this lawsuit, but I am glad the case ended this way. I do wonder why Sony waited so long to post the statement. Do you think this outcome will change Anonymous's stance on Sony?
Source: PlayStation Blog
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InnerRise
What a boring climax. :(
TylerDurdenAD
"We appreciate Mr. Hotz s willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution.
Bet that tasted like a crap sandwich to Sony lawyers.
Doomtastic
I lol'd hard when I read this cause I never actually expected it to end like this. Well any who, back to life folks.
T_Rexx
Geo really played the gullible stooges who send him money to fight a losing cause... an knowing the outcome Geo went on vacation spend some cash and at the end it goes like this...: "We appreciate Mr. Hotz s willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution. What he Geo disclosed to SONY is undisclosed ... but! the good thing for him is that he ratted to save himself some serious jail time. SONY wins again :)
Atavax
I doubt Anon will stop with this war on Sony. Geohot was just one small part of it. I am still boycotting Sony, and I imagine many people in Anon will still be working against Sony.
EvilRyuga
Well I hope both Sony and gamers have learned somthing from this
G4Dantiel
i'm glad this is over with
TheBRADLeyB
I wonder how much Anon had to do with this. Anon HAD to have some effect.
x_hunter_x
Yay, it's finally over!
Godsflow32
You know how this can be prevented? Stop hacking!!!!
Griever2112
Wait I'm confused... WTF happened?? Is GeoHot paying anything to Sony? Did Sony return GeoHot's stuff? all this was, was a crappy press release with Sony saying, were good now, we just wanted to make our system safe for all users, with no mention of what happens to the Modded systems, or the fact they threatened to lambaste anyone who did md and GeoHot saying I never meant to make it easy for hackers... which is what he said from day one...
This is no settlement, this is a piss poor PR Release to keep Anon from wrecking Sony further...
disclaimer: I do not condone the actions Anon took, but I support GeoHot for the mod.
cardinalsfan1122
Ok you people really don't understand this Lawsuit still IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO HACK THE PS3! Sony doesn't have a problem with that as long as you purchased it. But if you make a PSN account which means you have signed the terms of service which is a legally binding contract, stating that you cannot hack the PS3. But what GeoHotz did and sony proved with tracing of his IP address is that he did make a PSN account and then hack the PS3 which is a direct violation of the terms of service. That was proven but sony also wanted to stop him from telling people how to hack it just because it is a HUGE threat to everyone on PSN.
cardinalsfan1122
You know i'm not really glad this is over Geohotz was clearly in violation of the law and should have been dealt with in court. Now people aren't going to stop hacking the PS3 and trying to get on PSN. But it does show everyone how much anonymous are jerks. GO! Backtrace GO!
bloodysilence19
good its over, maybe now their wont be so many hackers messing up the online games
Sam00
Reading the terms of the settlement. If I did indeed read that correctly, it merely states that GeoHot has received a "warning". It appears that all Sony is doing is placing a restraining order against him to mod, hack, traffick pirated games/consoles, or exploit any future consoles at the cost of $10,000 per instance, up to $250,000.
Really sounds to me that Sony didn't have a case and did the best they could. But glad to see that there is no fine or jail time for Mr. Hotz. Private property should stay private property. I understand why Sony wants to protect their investment but PS3 systems are not rented they are purchased and we as free citizens should be able to do what we will with them. I'm not saying I'm a hacker or anything of the sort but I really dislike corporations throwing their weight around.
Selatcia
For those interested in seeing the terms of the settlement, it has been (supposedly) been leaked and posted:
http://psx-scene.com/forums/ attachments/f6/26802-settlemen t-george-hotz-case-127-stipula tion.pdf
gamermoney
GAME OVER
Wolokowoh0
Looks like Anonymous's attack was for nothing. The documents were leaked earlier today. The date on the agreement precedes last week's server attacks. The only thing Anonymous achieved is making hackers look bad. Looks as though Sony either got enough information to justify the money they spent or just wanted to make an example out of GeoHotz. Hopefully they got something that will help with the security of PSN. Now that this mess is over with, I can buy some games that I've waiting until this was through to get (i.e. pixeljunk shooter 2 and dead space 2: severed)
bigheadzach
Here's what a "permanent injunction" means: George Hotz is not allowed to operate a Sony console ever again, and if he is found to have done so, Sony will come down on him *real hard*.
That's one way to shut him up. Of course, I guess Sony estimated the costs of winning the case would have exceeded the apparent losses that the hack would cause, and decided to not blow it all on a single person. Sony saves face about its security flaws and saves lots of money, and George Hotz gets to not have his professional life ruined and pay damages over what would be quite a few years.
Mr_PS3
Glad that is over. I really hope Sony hires him to help improve the anti-piracy on the PS3. I can't stand hackers who think they can do whatever they want with whatever they have.
And to those who say that Sony already has enough money, or they just want their money, seriously? ANY developer that develops a great game deserves to reap the benefits of their hard work. When I buy a game, I'm glad to give the developer my money.
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